Divers Down Iran

[Ali Tabarsi]

Divers Down Iran
Qeshm Island

Dear Friend,

As a business owner and a professional I have responsibilities to my clients, my profession, and to my business.

The conditions for diving classes were explained to xerxes1358's as being:

1) Minimum of eight (8) divers to start the class
2) Favorable diving conditions based on current weather reports

We are sorry about xerxes1358's experience in his recent rip, but based on several phone conversations; above class conditions were explained to him.

xerxes1358's refusal to accept our explanations is regrettable.

We can understand that he has gone through many expenses to be in Iran for a short time, to visit his family and to be in Qheshm Island for diving and fun, but that does not obligate Divers Down to make any exceptions about its long-standing policies regarding safety and our business practices.

We hope to serve people interested in the art of diving and hope to avoid situations like this in the future. Our operation policies will soon be posted on our web site for all to see and understand.

We also hope such issues could be resolved based on civil dialogs and mutual understanding.

Our long lines of satisfied clients along with many letters of appreciation and commendations are evidence of our hard work and dedication to our love of diving and our profession.

Thank you,
Ali Tabarsi

President, Divers Down Iran
Divers Down Iran
May 2008

 

[Ali Tabarsi]

Please chek کلوپ غواصی DiversDown as soon as possible

 

[Boxcar Overkill]

I would absolutely love to dive Iran - but only if I could get an "axis of evil" c-card out of it.



I kid, I kid

 

[Mahidoodi]

Guys do NOT, I repeat DO NOT, do business with Ali Tabarsi (Diver down Iran)!!

I have been a member of Scuba board now for years and have dived and snorkeled at many sites. From Latin America to Europe and Middle East. I have made friends through this great and FRIENDLY discussion board with people from Australia, Philippines (who both were in Amsterdam and dived with me here), Dubai and Europe. People have TRUSTED me when they came to my home. I have made good friends. When I went to the people I knew here and dived with them I trusted them. But this time I was too easy in trusting people's words.

I have NEVER EVER experienced such a thing like this.

This year I was in Iran and contacted Ali Tabarsi. The whole endeavor was a DISASTER. I lost more $120 traveling and hotel money PLUS he RUINED my holiday and a big chunk of my vacation days.


I called Mr. Tabarsi 7 !!!!! times before planning this trip. The first time a friend of mine called who lives in Iran (Mind you I am Iranian and speak the language fluently too but I live in the Netherlands).

Ali Tabarsi: he makes 1001 promises and says come by ANY time you like and we can start IMMEDIATELY, I will do ALL that is in my power bla bla. Well we thought he this is a nice guy. He sounds like he means business.

Then I call again my self to get more detailed information: now he says no no you have to wait I cannot do dive course with less than 8 persons.

This goes on and on. Every time the story is changed a bit. Anyways after a couple of calls we decided to rearrange my vacation, cancel some of the trip arrangements that I already had ( just because I wanted to dive badly! and mind you cancellation costs: $$$$), and to go to Qeshm (divers down Iran). I asked: is this story final? Yes this is final.

What happened next:

He canceled me at the last minute. And I do mean LITERALLY the last minute: I was boarding in the plane (after I had booked a flight and hotel etc..). And the scary part: he did NOT even call me to cancel. All morning I had a bad feeling and my friend told me to call Ali Tabarsi and talk to this guy one more time.

Well I called: he was a sleep and 900km away from Qeshm in the capital Tehran, Qeshm is the diving Island in the SOUTH of Iran, and he told me yeah well we possibly have bad weather and you can go but it is not certain if the dives will go on or not. I am like what the hell? How can you do this to me?

Why did you not tell me this a little earlier? I am like what am I a supposed to do now? Come or not? He says its your choice I don't know. How do I know if the weather will be ok or not? What are you the dive leader/dive school owner or not? Who is responsible for the planning and safety here? What are you exactly if you don't know? He is like I don't know. I kept asking but he was totally uninterested. Then he hangs up.


Then his cell phone is unreachable for like 15 minutes. These are critical moments: I have to decide to board in or not and he just turns off his phone! Me and my friend calling like mad mans just to get more info. At the end I decided to cancel the whole thing. After 15 minutes he turns, I told him before I was boarding and had to decided WITHIN 5 minutes! so he knew that the critical moments were over, on his phone again and I told him I had to cancel the whole thing.

Later I contacted a friend of my family in Bandar Abbas who are from Bandar Abbas and have lived all their lives and know the environment as no other, a well known port 15 minutes away from Qeshm (Ali Tabarsi's dive spot), and what do you know: there was NO!! Bad weather AT ALL. Big BS thus.

My experience with these guys in Iran is that MANY of them have a LOT of talks but there is a HUGE gap between TALKS and DEEDS. BE AWARE.

Later back in Tehran I called Ali Tabarsi and wanted a damage refund. He had now twice ruined my planning (which had cost me a lot of $$$) and I think I deserved at least some damage refund. He promised he would at least pay my ticket: again HUGE GAP between TALK--DEED. I have not seen any money until now.

I am not in the mood of explaining where and with who you can do good dives right now, Thanks for ruining my day today again Mr. Tabarsi/Divers down Iran, but I will do a full review on all the information that I have found. Actually I have now some very GOOD information on where to go. Which I will do in August I think.


If you want a good RELIABLE and SAFE contact for diving contact me. AFTER ALL WHEN YOU GO TO A DISTANT COUNTRY YOU WANT A SAFE AND RELIABLE PERSON.


I will also put all the information that I have online soon. I just got back from my trip and have to sort stuff out but be aware! and warned for Ali Tabarsi.

regards,
Xerxes

I read your post with great interest as I find several questions in your approach to diving with Mr. Tabarsi.
You stated that you called him 7 times before you even PLANNED your trip. You stated that Mr. Tabarsi promised you 1001 promises and then he specifically told you that he can't do a dive course with less than 8 people. My question to you is if you were still in the planning stages of your trip why would you still go ahead and make that trip?
You claim that this went on for ever and the story changed every time. Why would you trust someone that did not give you straight answers and I am playing the devil's advocate in here.
You also stated that he changed your trip right before the last minute you boarded the plane when you called him the last minute. I am not sure how many of us would call the dive operator just before we board the plane just to make sure the trip is on? But you did that.
According to your statement again, he was asleep up North and diving takes place down South. Of course you assume that he was the one that was going to take you out and he couldn't possibly have a surrogate to take you out diving and also did he tell you that he was up North or did you just guess by the tone of his voice, since he was just asleep?
Oh, one more thing, how did you estimate the distance from Bandar Abbas to Qeshm to be 15 minutes? Is that by boat, or plane? Obviously that could be a big difference in how the weather is. And if you have been diving in many areas as you claim, have you not ever had a situation where the trip got cancelled because of the weather? I'll be glad to post my experience during Wilma and Katrina.
I also found your comment very interesting that you question him about being the dive operator and responsible for planning and safety, but when he told you that he couldn't go out because of the weather you found that to be unacceptable. After all who has more experience in that area of the country? You who live in Netherland or Mr. Tabarsi who lives in Qeshm?
Frankly I found your post to be full of contradictions and mean spirited. You are trying to discredit a man who is trying to have a nice dive operation and of all places in your homeland. My comments are solely based on your post as do not know Mr. Tabarsi, not have I ever met him. But with a post like yours we then see another about the flag and another about the 'Axis of Evil'. The diving community is too small to be bad mouthed.

 

[Boxcar Overkill]

and another about the 'Axis of Evil'. The diving community is too small to be bad mouthed.

To be clear, I was making fun of the U.S. more than Iran with the Axis of Evil line. It seems like such a strange thing to say in retrospect. No offense was intended.

Good diving.

 

[Mahidoodi]

To be clear, I was making fun of the U.S. more than Iran with the Axis of Evil line. It seems like such a strange thing to say in retrospect. No offense was intended.

Good diving.

Non was taken. Thanks for posting and clarifying your point.

 

[Ali Tabarsi]

DiversDown ,professional diving centre in iran - Home Start.
Please see.
regards
ali tabarsi